March 2014

Made at GREENinc in the last month : a rendering of a pool deck for a proposed hotel in Limpopo Province

Since the last newsletter, someone (?) posted a link on our Facebook page to an article on Inhabitat that reports on a study that claims that white (painted) roofs are better at combating climate change than green (planted) ones. The latter are more expensive (we knew that, I think), but the article concedes that over their longer life span, the additional cost of green roofs is insignificant enough that it shouldn’t influence your choice. The climate theory is that white roofs reflect sunlight, whereas dark-coloured ones absorb heat and so contribute to the urban heat island effect. The article refers to another study at Stanford University that suggests that although white roofs result in a cooler lower atmosphere, they also decrease the temperature difference half a mile up, and this might decrease cloud formation which would mean more sun getting to the earth and a net heating effect. So, green or white, then? The author can’t say, but does point to the additional storm water control benefits of the green, so whichever you prefer, as long as it isn’t a dark painted roof.

The next thing that got someone excited enough to post something was that Freedom Park was featured on Landezine. You may not get it, but this is very exciting! Check out the article.

Then, just yesterday James posted a link to an article on 7 record-setting streets, and I must agree with him, the nested turning circles in Swindon (the worlds most confusing intersection) are the funniest. They must also be the most dangerous – confusion at an intersection is never a good thing.

Facebook sent me a note a few weeks back saying that in future it will name anyone who posts on behalf of GREENinc. I haven’t seen that happen yet, but I am looking forward to being able to tell who posts what.